Thousands turn out for annual Market Street Festival
COLUMBUS, Miss (WCBI) – Spring Festival Season has arrived and Columbus is kicking it off with Market Street.
The all-day event attracts thousands to downtown Columbus.
WCBI finds out what keeps people coming back year after year.
Thousands flooded the streets of downtown Columbus to enjoy good food, music, and shopping at Market Street.
Organizers want visitors to have a good time in a safe environment. That’s where CPD officer Darnell Madison and fellow officers come on.
” This is the kickoff of festival season and it’s one of the biggest events in Columbus and it’s good to have some positive out here where people can come together and have a good time,” said Madison.
Jeff Ayers is a part of the Midsouth Men’s Health organization.
He says events like Market Street allow them to spread men’s health awareness in a more approachable way.
” testicular cancer is the number one cancer in men ages 13 to 35 so we try to get out here especially where you see a lot of young kids running around and just let them know that it’s funny but approachable and if something were wrong to tell your parents,” said Ayers.
Through his organization, Ayers has spent countless hours with men who have been affected by these types of cancers.
He says that his goal is to end the stigma that men have about checking in on their health.
” I think men just have a lot of pride and it goes through a time that men are really tough and they don’t need help from anybody and that’s another reason we try to make it funny so that it a lot more approachable,” said Ayers.
Market Street isn’t just beneficial for vendors.
It introduces new customers to local stores that are here to stay.
“People come from all over to attend this event and so it’s really good for us to that are here and are here to stay for great exposure and we get to meet new people and market street kind of allows us to show people what we have in store for summer. It’s a time we put out a lot of new arrivals and a lot of our things to get people beach ready,” said Gill.
Gill says each year the crowd gets even bigger
because people are excited to get a taste of Columbus.
“This event has just grown every year honestly but it’s because so many good vendors are coming here and seeing what Columbus has to offer and they are wanting to get a taste of that,” said Gill.
Organizers say when this year’s festival wraps up, they’ll get to work planning for 2024.
